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Bobblybear's Book List - 2017


bobblybear

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Thanks, Kay. The downside of having them all on Kindle is that I sometimes forget how many I have. :lol: It's always a shock to list the actual number at the start of every year! :blush2: Hope you have a great reading year in 2017.

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You're brave listing your Kindle books 'to be read'.   I've no idea how many books I have on my Kindle - I'm going with the ostrich approach!  :lol:  (Do they really bury their heads in the sand, or is that a myth...?)

 

ostrich_zpsxfjldoxt.jpg

 

I have started keeping a tally of Kindle books that I've paid for in the last few years, but I have tons of freebies that I haven't listed.

 

Happy reading in 2017  :)

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Thanks all.  :D  I've already bought 5 books this year. :hide:

I hope you enjoy all of them :D

 

You're brave listing your Kindle books 'to be read'.   I've no idea how many books I have on my Kindle - I'm going with the ostrich approach!  :lol:  (Do they really bury their heads in the sand, or is that a myth...?)

According to this article (I found it through Google), it's a myth which started because when you see an ostrich picking at the ground from a distance, it looks like their hands are buried in the ground, because their body is so large. They do dig holes in the dirt to use as nests so while their head isn't in the sand, it can look that way because they have their head in a hole checking up on the (very large) eggs.

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Hello bobblybear, I hope you have a fantastic reading year in 2017! :smile2:

 

 

Oh, and my tree-book TBR pile isn't fully up to date. I had a bit of a purge last year, and took a load to the charity shop, so there are some on my list that probably aren't on my bookshelf, but my bookshelf is all a-jumble at the moment. I'm going to do another cleanout of tree-books and will update the list when that is done.

 

Oh, blasted crap! I was looking forward to going over your TBR! But I'll just then go through the Kindle TBR, yes? :D

 

 

 

TBR Pile - Kindle Books

 

Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michale Chabon

Black Swan Green - David Mitchell

The Elegance of the Hedgehog - Muriel Barbery, Alison Anderson

Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

The Dinner - Herman Koch

The Beach - Alex Garland

 

Oooh, these are all great books! :smile2: I hope you enjoy them all! :smile2: 

 

 

Rory Gilmore Book List

 

:lol: I came in this thread, thinking, 'I wonder if it might be possibly that bobblybear has added this challenge to her lists on her reading log...' and there it was! :D I wish you all the best with this one! 

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Happy Reading Year!!

Amazing lists, BB!  Ambition, thy name is.....BB!   :readingtwo:  :giggle2:

 

You have quite a few excellent ones that I've read, The Road, Outlander, and more....yays!

 

 

You're brave listing your Kindle books 'to be read'.   I've no idea how many books I have on my Kindle - I'm going with the ostrich approach!  :lol:  (Do they really bury their heads in the sand, or is that a myth...?)

 

ostrich_zpsxfjldoxt.jpg

 

I have started keeping a tally of Kindle books that I've paid for in the last few years, but I have tons of freebies that I haven't listed.

 

Happy reading in 2017  :)

 

I love this, it's an approach that has worked for me!  :giggle:

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Happy Reading Year!!

Amazing lists, BB!  Ambition, thy name is.....BB!   :readingtwo:  :giggle2:

 

You have quite a few excellent ones that I've read, The Road, Outlander, and more....yays!

 

Thanks, Kate! I hope to make a dent in my list this year! :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

First review of the year (I'm a bit behind!). :D

 

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler

 

The story is told from Rosemary's point of view. She is very reluctant to tell anyone her story, so she decides to start with the safest part – the middle of her life. It is 1996, and we learn that she has two siblings – who, strangely, are both missing – and parents who barely speak to her or each other. Rosemary has a secret about her childhood, which sets her very much apart from her peers and means she has always struggled to relate to them and build relationships with them. I can't say what it is but it is revealed about a third of the way through the story.

 

The story is interesting, and there's no doubt it is well written, but something felt missing and I couldn't put my finger on it. I think Rosemary wasn't particuarly likeable or approachable.....there was some distance to her narrative, but that could possibly be because of what has happened in her life. She wasn't a character I could warm to, even though her words were very easy to read.

 

In the last section Rosemary has a very different voice. I know it's set around 20 years later but it seems like too much has changed. There is a massive jump in time and we don't quite know what happened in between.

 

It was an alright read, but nothing remarkable. I was surprised to learn it was short listed for the Man Booker Prize, as it didn't standout for me. Even this plot twist didn't have the impact that perhaps it should....I don't know if it's because it felt unrealistic (although maybe things like that actually happened :dunno:). Towards the end, the book got a bit preachy (which I could see a mile off, due to the subject matter). The events were inspired by authors childhood, and something that obviously impacted her for many years (she wrote the book in her 60s).

 

Enjoyed it but not as much as I hoped.

 

3.5/6

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The Poisonous Seed: A Frances Doughty Mystery - Linda Stratmann

 

Set in the Victorian times, Frances is helping her father run an apothecary shop. Her father is grieving over the recent death of his son, and struggling to cope. When one of their customers is found dead, and the last thing he ingested was a potion from their shop, her father immediately falls under suspicion and his state of mind is questioned (not only by the police but by the fellow townspeople). Frances is a plucky determined 19 year old, and sets out to clear his name. In her investigations she unveils a murder that happened 10 years ago and is somehow linked to the events that have just occurred.

 

Oh, this book was way too long and outstayed it's welcome by a fair bit. It's a shame because I enjoyed the beginning, but too many things taken on which didn't move the current story forward and just served to fill the book out. There were many characters to keep track of, and the plot became so complex it pushed the limits of credibility; I was pretty fed up with it about half way through and couldn't wait for it to be over. However, I didn't dislike it enough to abandon it. If it had been trimmed down to 100 pages less, then I would have found it more engaging. Actually, looking at the Amazon page count it was only 304 pages but my goodness it felt like 500. :thud: Maybe the typeface was very small (hard to tell on a Kindle). :dunno:

 

It's the first book in a series which follows Frances as she becomes a detective. Unfortunately I don't think I will be reading any more of them, which is a shame as I like a good Victorian detective novel.

 

2.5/6

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I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves a few years ago, and I felt exactly the same about it. It was okay, but nothing special. I mainly just got it because I found a pretty hardcover edition for £3 in a charity shop :D

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I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves a few years ago, and I felt exactly the same about it. It was okay, but nothing special. I mainly just got it because I found a pretty hardcover edition for £3 in a charity shop :D

 

Yeah, I have to admit the cover was the main thing that caught my eye. :lol: It's the contrast of yellow and black that stands out. It's not the first time and probably not the last that I buy a book for that reason. :D

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Stolen Child - Laura Elliot

 

Susanne has just suffered her 5th miscarriage, and unable to cope with the reaction of others, she decides to keep up the appearance that she is still pregnant. I was skeptical of this part. I mean, I've never been pregnant but surely it's not possible to convince your husband that you are 6 months or so pregnant but drinking and eating a lot?  :blink:  Her husband has just returned briefly from his job on an oil rig, and was only with her for a few days, but I did raise my eyebrows at this.

 

Susanne becomes obsessed with Carla, who is a minor celebrity and expecting her first child. After Carla's baby is born, Susanna steals her and passes her off as her own. This isn't a spoiler by the way...all is revealed at the start of the book, so we know who the culprit is from the beginning.

 

Susanna's story is told as though she is writing in a diary, and the chapters alternate between her and Carla's story.

 

I was wary after the first chapter (with the fake pregnancy) but the book grew on me very quickly. I can't say much more about it, as it will spoil the story, suffice to say that I was very surprised by the later events of the book. Rather annoyingly, I can't actually remember the ending so I will have to quickly revisit that, as I'm curious as to what happened!!! (How can I not remember the ending, when I only finished it a few weeks ago?! :sarcastic: ) Although I think the basis for this story has been done many times, this one is a fairly original take on it, and I did enjoy it all the way through.
 

Recommended.

 

4.5/6

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I'm still 6 reviews behind. :blush2:

 

I assumed I bought Stolen Child based on hearing about it from this forum, but I can't find any reviews on it here. :dunno: It's another one of those mystery books where I can't remember why I bought it. :lol: Glad I did though!

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Rather annoyingly, I can't actually remember the ending so I will have to quickly revisit that, as I'm curious as to what happened!!! (How can I not remember the ending, when I only finished it a few weeks ago?! :sarcastic: )

That happens to me all the time these days! :blush:

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I'm still 6 reviews behind. :blush2:

 

I assumed I bought Stolen Child based on hearing about it from this forum, but I can't find any reviews on it here. :dunno: It's another one of those mystery books where I can't remember why I bought it. :lol: Glad I did though!

Good luck catching up :).

 

I read it years ago, before I signed up to this forum. I bought it I think because Amazon recommended it to me. I'm glad I did too, I'm happy you liked the book and that after all these years I finally found someone who's read it :).

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  • 3 weeks later...

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon

 

This is the story of two cousins, who over a number of years built up a comic book empire in New York.

 

The setting is just before the start of WWII. Clay is a young lad of about 15 who works as an illustrator at a comic book business. One day, his cousin Joe turns up needing a place to stay. Joe has just migrated from Prague, escaping from the German invasion. It turns out that he is equally passionate about illustrations and maybe a touch more talented. Together they create a comic book character – The Escapist - which soon becomes a best seller. But in meantime Joe is also desperately working to get his remaining family over to New York from Prague.

 

The story moves in many different directions and spans a long time period (about 15 years), however comic books and their history provide a backdrop for most of the book. It was very well researched with so much trivia about the history of comic books (I can only assume it's all true), and well written but for me it was too long. It was just over 600 pages, but I feel like the actual story could have been told in 400 pages. It often went off on many tangents and these sections were so long that I struggled to keep my focus.

 

I read it in chunks and in between I had to put it to one side to read something a bit lighter.

 

I think I'm in the minority though, and most people seem to have enjoyed it a lot more than I did. Had it been trimmed down, it still could have told a brilliant story without losing much depth or character.

 

3.5/6

 

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Apple Tree Yard - Louise Doughty

 

The story beings in a courtroom, where the narrator is on trial for something not yet revealed. She is a 52 year old geneticist, and many months earlier she started an affair with a married man. Presumably, this had consequences which resulted in her being in court now.

 

The story is told in the first person, as though she is telling her lover everything that has happened. She refers to him as 'you' throughout which sometimes I found a bit confusing. The narration is a bit stilted but the main character isn't supposed to be someone you can warm to....she is quite clinical and this comes across strongly.

 

I liked it, but I thought the start of the book – when she begins her affair – was a bit impulsive. It just didn't fit, and the person she had the affair with was so ordinary and it was never revealed why she was so attracted to him. :dunno: The story is slowly eked out over the course of the affair, with occassional intermissions from the courtroom setting in the future. The reader knows it doesn't end well, and the suspense that leads to the endpoint is quite effective.

 

Unfortunately I missed watching the mini-series of this. It's such a shame as I had just finished the book and I would have liked to compare the two, but I didn't know it was on until it was all over. :doh:  I'm sure I can catch up with it on BBC iPlayer if I'm so inclined. Not sure what I think of Emily Watson as the lead character. Did anyone manage to watch this? How does it compare to the book?

 

4.5/6

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I did watch this and overall thought it was quite good - haven't read the book.  It did drag in places but the affair was shown as being very impulsive, and you do know right from the start that she's on trial for something.  Emily Watson was excellent though.

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